Eurico De Gifford at his best. PWD ONLY            Attending current dog shows and water trials we cannot but wonder why there are  so many poor specimens.  We need well informed, honest and committed breeders who understand that maintaining the breed involves more than rushing pretty dogs around the show ring. Unfortunately, breed clubs do not seem to be interested in helping breeders &  judges to understand the STANDARD. Changing the standard obviously will result in changing the breed, and we will inadvertently see the disappearance of long cherished characteristics like the curly coat. To use this example, we would then end up with only loose, straight coats, which are impractical for dogs bred to work in the water.  After all, these are Portuguese WATER Dogs. TO UPDATE SOME OF THE LATEST "DEVELOPMENTS"  IN THE BREED, IN AND OUT OF THE RING: FROM ENGLAND comes the alarming news that PWDs are being bred with undercoats.  FROM AMERICA (where numbers and over sized dogs are the issue)   Black and tan, brindle, white with spots, and spots in white coats are accepted and registered as blacks or browns according to the color of their noses.  The main objective is not improvement or maintenance of the breed but the production of as many champions as possible - forgetting that most of these dogs do not have many of the characteristics of their PWD progenitors (see my site www.degiffordpwds.net - TUMULT IN PEDIGREE LAND)  FROM SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES Breeders new to the breed and under-informed judges are promoting straight coated PWDs over wavies & curlies. FROM PORTUGAL – Dogs with long necks, long ears, long bodies and long straight coats hop around the ring in a quick step untypical of the PWDs we used to see in the good old days. These alterations are impractical if PWD’s are still meant to do the work for which they were originally bred. Very close inbreeding is still carried on and health issues are ignored.  PWDs - WHERE HAVE THEY GONE?